STUBBS looks set to be named as the new manager at Easter Road tomorrow and SFA director of football development Fleeting is sure the man he guided to his coaching badges will be a hit.

Jim Fleeting’s biggest surprise is it has taken this long for someone to give him the opportunity.

The Everton Under-21 manager has been picked out by Easter Road chief executive Leeann Dempster as the perfect replacement for axed Terry Butcher after a hugely impressive interview.

It’s also understood he’s still trying to persuade Goodison sidekick David Unsworth to come as his No.2.

And after guiding Stubbs through five years of his coach education all the way up to his UEFA Pro Licence, the SFA’s director of football development is thrilled to finally see the former Celtic, Bolton and Everton favourite in a first-team dugout.

Stubbs went through his badges with the likes of Davie Weir, Graham Alexander, Gary Locke and Portugal’s Pedro Caixinha. And Fleeting said: “It doesn’t surprise me in the slightest that he shone.

“On the Pro Licence we put all the candidates through a mock interview process – it’s not anything fun, we get some heavy hitters in there from business but who also know the game to put these guys through their paces.

“We had the top man in from SmithKline Beecham when Alan did his.

“And he got the job. I remember clearly the guys who did him earmarking him as someone with real potential.

“He came out of that very strongly amongst some really good candidates.

“And it’s a big thing nowadays, being able to manage up the way into the boardroom as well as in the dressing room.

“The way he presents to the media is important as well. It’s not the easiest thing to do but he seems more than comfortable on that front too.”

All Hibs fans are interested in is how he fares on the training ground and in the dugout though. Fleeting (below) insists they’ll have no worries.

He said: “He’s comfortable on the training pitch. I’ve been down to Everton to watch him train with the Under-21s and he makes demands of them constantly.

“The training’s good, it’s lively and he’s also good when there are other coaches around. He commands respect among his peers.

“I genuinely believe he’ll make Hibs better. He’ll make them an organised team again. He’ll build what he wants, a squad all working for the same aims.

“And I think Leeann Dempster is of a similar ilk, she’ll like that kind of person about her club.”

Stubbs has had other opportunities to step away from Everton but has never felt they’ve been the right ones.

Instead he’s progressed his education helping bring through the likes of Ross Barkley and working closely with bosses Davie Moyes and Roberto Martinez. And despite it being his first job in management at 42, Fleeting insists he has the presence to carry it off.

He said: “Alan’s a nice guy but ambitious – he’s been desperate to challenge himself, although he’s been very loyal to Everton.

“But ultimately he always wanted to be a manager. He has a natural charisma about him and he’s also a grafter.

“The style he’s got, it has a nice quality. People find him approachable and that’s a big thing for managers these days.

“It’s a changed environment, where players talk to managers a lot more than they used to and Alan’s the kind of guy who’ll make that easy for them.

“He was supportive of everyone alongside him on the course, whether it was on the training field or working on the stuff away from the pitch. He was a decent guy, not big-headed in the slightest.

“And when you consider what he’s gone through in his life away from football? When he had cancer he was more interested in raising awareness of the disease for everyone else than he was in worrying about himself. That sums him up, show he has humility.

“He’s a good choice.”

Stubbs is expected to be announced tomorrow, the day Hibs’ contracted playing staff have been told to report back for pre-season.